N.I.B.
''N.I.B. ''is the fourth track off of Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album. The lyrics are from the point of view of Satan, who falls in love for a woman, but ultimately tricks her to be in his arms. It begins with a bass solo by Geezer Butler, titled "Bassically" on some US releases as an intro. It involves the use of the wah-wah pedal on his bass and was recorded in one take, as the amp's volume control is audibly turned up before the distorted bass intro of "N.I.B." begins. The song's main riff (as well Osbourne's vocal delivery) have been noted for their Cream-influenced sound — the song has even been referred to as "the raucous defiling of Cream". It is merged with "Behind the Wall of Sleep" on the North American version of the album. Title When the song was first released, its title was widely rumoured to have stood for "Nativity in Black", or to a lesser extent "Name In Blood". In a 1992 interview, Geezer Butler states that the title simply refers to Bill Ward's goatee at the time, which the rest of the band thought was shaped like a pen nib; also referred to as nibby. Apparently, Geezer Butler said: "Originally it was Nib, which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to Nativity In Black." Ronnie James Dio can be heard mentioning (but not confirming) this assumption on several live bootleg recordings with the band from the early 1980s. "Nativity in Black" was later used for the title of a series of Black Sabbath tribute albums. Lyrics Oh yeah Some people say my love cannot be true Please believe me my love, and I'll show you I will give you those things you thought unreal The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal Oh yeah Follow me now and you will not regret Leaving the life you led before we met You were the first to have this love of mine Forever with me 'till the end of time Your love for me has just got to be real Before you know the way I'm going to feel I'm going to feel I'm going to feel Oh yeah Now I have you with me, under my power Our love grows stronger now with every hour Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am My name is Lucifer, please take my hand Oh yeah Follow me now and you will not regret Leaving the life you led before we met You were the first to have this love of mine Forever with me 'till the end of time Your love for me has just got to be real Before you know the way I'm going to feel I'm going to feel I'm going to feel Oh yeah Now I have you with me, under my power Our love grows stronger now with every hour Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am My name is Lucifer, please take my hand Category:Black Sabbath Category:Black Sabbath (album) Category:Songs Category:Lyrics